The present invention generally relates to apparatus for dispensing or spreading material and, more particularly, to apparatus for top dressing terrain, and, in a most preferred form, to broadcast spreading top dressers.
Various apparatus exist for applying top dressing to the turf of golf courses, lawns, football fields, baseball fields, soccer fields, parks, recreational areas, and related surfaces; for applying calcined clay on baseball diamonds; for sanding icy sidewalks and driveways; and for similar applications requiring an even dispersion of material at pre-selected rates. Examples of such apparatus are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,873 which has been widely and very successfully marketed under the trademark TURFCO METE-R-MATIC and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,952 which has been widely and very successfully marketed under various trademarks. With the increasing awareness of the importance of top dressing in turf management, an increasing need exists for improved dispensers to allow the effective, efficient application of material with minimal damage to the turf and with increased ease of operation.
Specifically during top dressing of selected turfs, such as golf greens for example, it is optimal to spread the top dressing material evenly without clumps or bunches. Even distribution without clumps is not realized when the top dressing material is dispensed at a varying rate from the hopper. Further, although top dressers of the drop type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,438,873 and 5,307,952 have been highly effective at applying top dressing evenly to turf, these top dressers only dispense a ribbon of top dressing that is approximately equal to the width of the top dresser conveying belt. The width of the ribbon of top dressing frequently determines the number of passes required to properly top dress a green or other surface. That is, the narrower the ribbon of top dressing, the more time is required for the top dressing operation. As the machinery and operator must be on the green during a top dressing operation, the green is typically not playable during the top dressing operation. This slows play on the entire golf course, decreasing the number of golfers who can play the course on a given day and decreasing the level of satisfaction for the golfers who get to play the course. Thus, a top dresser that can evenly distribute a ribbon of top dressing wider than the width of the top dresser conveying belt is desirable. Further, such drop top dressers were not very effective in spreading extremely minimal amounts of top dressing material. Distributing minimal amounts of dressing material is desirable for fine tuning the performance characteristics of golf greens and, in other applications, allows for the use of more concentrated fertilizers and chemical treatments. It also reduces the number of refills to the hopper to cover a particular surface area to be treated.
Although broadcast spreaders are known for spreading seed and fertilizers, broadcast spreaders had not widely penetrated the top dressing market until the introduction of the broadcast spreading top dresser of the type of U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,079. In particular, most previous commercially available broadcast spreaders utilized mesh type conveyors having hinged links that are formed from metal or similar material. These hinged links form an array of cells open at the top and bottom. These hinges can require regular repair and maintenance to assure proper operation. Additionally, such previous broadcast spreaders were often driven by the power take off of the towing vehicle, with the spinners and conveyor being driven together. This increases the power demands on the towing vehicle. Further, with previous broadcast spreaders, material was often present on the spinners at initiation of spinner rotation. This material may initially be dispensed in a clump or, at a minimum, may initially be distributed at a rate greater than under normal operating conditions. Thus, previous commercially available broadcast spreaders required a towing vehicle of considerable power and including a power take off, dispensed material in an amount greater than desired in a green top dressing function and unevenly at least at the start of spinner operation.
Top dressers of the broadcast spreading type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,079 have penetrated significant portions of the top dressing market. In particular, considerable market success has been experienced by the top dressers of the type of U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,079 because of their ability to spread top dressing over wide areas while avoiding the problems and deficiencies of previous commercially available broadcast spreaders.
However, top dressers of the type of U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,079 were unable to dispense top dressing at heavy rates equivalent to that with top dressers of the drop type. Prior attempts to dispense top dressing with spinners at heavier rates utilized shrouds such as of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,074, which in some cases were moveable between operable and nonoperable positions. However, such shrouds basically stopped the kinetic energy of the top dressing material being propelled radially by the spinners and deflected the material downwardly in a controlled configuration. However, it should be immediately appreciated that the width of the dispersed material perpendicular to the operation direction is then a function of the angle of the sides of the shroud, that the beneficial effect of radial propulsion by the spinners is lost, and in the case of most powered spinners, did not result in even distribution. Thus, turf managers who owned top dressers of the broadcast spreading type also were required to purchase top dressers of the drop type to perform both light and heavy applications of top dressing.
Particularly and specifically for heavy applications, the distribution pattern for materials distributed by one or more spinners of a broadcast spreader can be uneven. The distribution of material can be uneven along either or both the direction that the broadcast spreader is moving and the width perpendicular to the direction that the broadcast spreader is moving. Controlling the distribution of material along the direction that the broadcast spreader is moving is typically controlled by a combination of spinner configuration, broadcast spreader ground speed and spinner velocity. However, controlling the distribution of material from a powered broadcast spreader perpendicular to the direction that the spreader is moving has not been satisfactorily addressed by prior broadcast spreaders. Thus, prior broadcast spreaders have continued to generate an uneven depth of material perpendicular to the direction of the broadcast spreader""s movement. Generally, the uneven depth is an artifact of loading the material at a particular location on the spinner. The placement of material at a particular position on the spinner will inherently concentrate the distribution of that material within a particular radial arc about the axis of rotation of the spinner. The particular radial arc is determined by the configuration of the spinner and the speed that the spinner is rotating. Providing multiple spinners typically merely changes the distribution profile across the perpendicular and, typically, results in an uneven distribution profile across the perpendicular.
Thus, a need continues to exist for methods and apparatus for providing both light and heavy applications of top dressing material to turf and in a manner to distribute the material evenly in either application.
The above-listed needs and other problems in the field of top dressing are solved, in the most preferred form, by providing a top dresser including a diverter to contact the material distributed by the spinners and to deflect the propelled material to more evenly distribute the material being spread across its width perpendicular to the operation direction that the top dresser is moving.
In most preferred aspects, the forward end is spaced from the circular disk of the spinner and located intermediate where the top dressing material is dispensed unto the top of the circular disk and the maximum rearward extent of the circular disk in the operation direction. In the most preferred form, the rearward edge of the diverter is spaced radially intermediate the forward edge of the diverter and the maximum rearward extent in the operation direction.
In other aspects of the present invention, the diverter has a lower edge extending at different distances into the thickness of the top dressing material being propelled radially from the rotating spinners.
In other preferred aspects of the present invention, the metering gate of the top dresser is prevented from being moved inadvertently between a first range of spacings from the conveyor and a second range of spacings from the conveyor different than the first range of spacings.
In still other preferred aspects of the present invention, the diverter for a spinner assembly is insertable through a slot in a sheet located perpendicular to the axis and extending generally perpendicular to the spinner, with the diverter being positionable in a first position not detrimentally extending beyond the plate towards the spinner and in a second position extending beyond the plate towards the spinner.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a novel top dresser.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel top dresser for evenly spreading top dressing material in both light and heavy applications.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel top dresser of the broadcast type.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel broadcast spreading top dresser operable in heavy and light spread modes.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel broadcast spreading top dresser able to evenly distribute material in a heavy spread mode.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel broadcast spreading top dresser preventing inadvertent manual movement of the meter gate of the hopper between heavy and light spread modes of operation.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel broadcast spreading top dresser having a unique manner of adjustably mounting a diverter to the spinner assembly not requiring disassembly or loose parts when switching between different modes of operation.
All of the above objectives can be satisfied in the field of material dispensing by the illustrative embodiment of a top dresser according to the preferred teachings of the present invention, detailed descriptions of which are described in connection with the drawings.